Super Smash Brothers Ultimate: World Of Light
by UniverseClassLegend
Summary: Made in honor of Super Smash Brothers' 20th anniversary. After a mysterious being of light seemingly kills all the fighters, only one who had survived must find a way to stop this being and rescue his friends! But are there more sinister forces at work?
1. Prologue

An orange liquid splattered across the white landscape.

Something then began to swim within the colored ink, leaping in and out of other ink puddles. The squid then changed into a female kid, then began firing its squirt gun-like weapon.

She began to dodge blue ink sent her way by a male kid. Before long, the one-on-one Turf War between the two Inklings began to escalate.

The two began strafing each other, with the boy Inkling diving into his blue self-made lake to avoid a Splat Bomb the Girl Inkling threw at him. The girl pursued the blue squid, continuing to fire….

Until both noticed the scene around them began to turn dark.

The girl paused. A bright light began to burn behind her. As the boy approached, the girl turned around…

And her eyes widened at what she saw.

Before the two of them was a giant fiery circle in the air, with an asymmetrical cross within it.

Below the symbol were eight figures: a mustached man with an "M" on his red cap, a gorilla wearing only a necktie with the initials "DK", an elf with blue clothing wielding a sword and shield, an armored figure (seemingly feminine in shape) with an arm cannon, a green dinosaur, a round pink thing, a space fox with a blaster, and some sort of yellow cute mouse thing with lightning sparkling at its red cheeks.

The two squid kids didn't yet know who these eight strange figures were, but one thing was clear.

What happened next would change everything forever.

…

9 months later.

The blaster aimed itself at the horizon.

"Don't let a single one get away!" Its wielder, ace pilot Fox McCloud, ordered. Behind him were 73 fighters, each at the ready to take down their foe. But that foe exactly?

Before them stood an entire ARMY of Master Hands! Possibly the reason why he came back every time he was destroyed! But with the hands was something else. A giant yellow core surrounded by white wings, each glowing blue and red. It looked beyond majestic, but also beyond dangerous.

Yet even though they knew their enemy, save for the massive light, the fighters could not believe what they were seeing.

 _There's so many of them!_ A Mii Brawler thought. _There's gotta be at least 740 with that thing!_

As if hearing his thoughts, Marth, Prince of Atlea, devised a plan.

"We'll each need to take down about ten." He stated.

Beside him, Zelda, Princess of Hyrule, noticed a cowering Luigi.

"Stow your fear!" She commanded. "It is now or never!"

Alongside the two, Pit, Angelic Hero of Skyworld, had courage.

"We'll win this!" He said. "I know we will!"

As the fighters stood at the ready, the giant figure began to speak through its core.

 _"_ _I HAVE WAITED 20 YEARS FOR THIS DAY."_ It spoke in a masculine tone. _"THE DAY THAT I, GALEEM, THE LORD OF LIGHT, REWRITE THE MISTAKE OF THE MERGED WORLDS. HOWEVER, DO NOT THINK I AM NOT INTELLIGENT. MANY HAVE TRIED TO SPLIT YOUR WORLDS APART. MASTER HAND, CRAZY HAND, THE FOOLISH BOWSER, TABUU, AND MASTER CORE HAVE ALL TRIED, AND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM HAVE FAILED. I, HOWEVER, PLAN DIFFERENTLY. INSTEAD OF DIVIDING YOUR WORLDS BACK INTO THE WAY THEY WERE, THEY SHALL BE MERGED INTO ONE, SINGLE UNIVERSE! THIS DAY MARKS THE BIRTH OF A NEW WORLD, CREATED IN MY IMAGE. THE IMAGE OF A GOD! AND THOSE WHO EVEN TRY TO RESIST SHALL BE ERASED FOR ALL ETERNITY!"_

Before the fighters' very eyes, the hands began to disintegrate into glowing blue streaks of light, which Galeem began to absorb. The fighters prepared for the god-like beings next move…

When Shulk, wielder of the Monado sword, was suddenly granted a vision by his weapon.

What he saw was catastrophic. Completely heinous. The final chapter of many timeless adventures.

Afterwards, he turned to warn them when there was still time…

But he was too late.

The singularity between Galeem and his now absorbed Master Hands created a black hole, which soon collapsed, creating an array of beams of intense light!

With an army of Master Hands under its control, Galeem sought to create a new world. The fighters and their countless stories…

Came to an end as light consumed them.

One by one, the fighters fell.

Link, Hero of Hyrule, reflected 3 beams, but a forth one vaporized him.

Samus, Intergalactic Bounty Hunter, found her Arm Cannon useless against the beams as she too was swallowed.

Zelda and Mewtwo, a man-made Pokémon, attempted to reflect the beams, but its power was too much.

Not even the fastest beings alive could escape, as Pikachu, the Electric Type Pokémon, and Sonic The Hedgehog, were caught; Sonic's attempts to help Pikachu a complete folly.

The Umbra Witch, Bayonetta, unleashed the Bat Within to dodge three beams, but her human form was disintegrated in a matter of seconds.

"Squirtle, Ivysaur, Charizard, Use Triple Finish, NOW!"

The Pokémon obeyed their Trainer's command as Bowser, King of Koopas, blasted out his biggest fire yet….

Only for their ultimate attacks to leave barely a scratch, as they were KO'd instantly.

The F-Zero racer, Captain Falcon, didn't even have time to escape as he was vaporized before he could even get into his Blue Falcon.

The Aura and Water Ninja Pokémon, Lucario and Greninja, couldn't keep up dodging as both were ultimately caught as if Poke Balls were thrown at them.

The Inklings, still completely new to this world, attempted to hide from the beams in the only way they knew how. Yet the beams rammed into the ground, seeing right through their plot.

Falco, Member of Star Fox, was also caught in his Arwing, no matter how many barrel rolls he did.

With a failed attempt of reflection, Palutena, the goddess of light, was blinded by an even more powerful god of light.

Pit had no time to mourn the apparent death of the goddess as both he and his counterpart, Dark Pit, lost their ability to fly as light devoured them both.

The master of stealth, Snake, had attempted to hide himself away…

But it would take a whole lot more than a puny cardboard box to fool Galeem, as he immediately spotted the soldier and the light viciously ate him alive.

Diddy Kong, Donkey Kong's little buddy, and Rosalina, Cosmic Explorer, with her Luma companion, attempted to fly off via Rocketbarrel Pack and Launch Star, but no advantage of height could stop their demise.

Wii Fit Trainer, Duck Hunt, and Villager also met their impending doom as their attempts also failed.

One by one, the numbers dwindled, many fighters at their final destination.

Many fell, including Shulk, Fox, Marth…

And even Mario himself.

All seemed lost, with legends disappearing for good.

But there was still one fighter left.

Kirby, Hero of Dream Land, dodged beams left and right upon his Warp Star. Pushing its power to its very limit, Kirby was able to make the Warp Star live up to its name, as he blinked away into another plane of existence.

Yet nothing could stop such scale of massacre.

Thus, the universe was crushed at the hands of Galeem. Those who fought the light were devoured. The others lost their bodies and became spirits. Only one survived. A star of hope twinkles faintly as the dust settles on a new world….

…

Kirby found himself crash-landing on a barren wasteland, more specifically a canyon, and he fell face-first on the ground.

As he got up, what he saw almost amazed him.

Snapping out of it, Kirby pondered sadly what had happened. Was everyone gone? Was he the only fighter left?

Deep within, a part of him wanted to believe that it was all true. But he was not without courage and hope. The fighters he had known for over 20 years would not be killed so easily. He would find them. And he would take the fight to Galeem himself.

But just as he was leaving, Kirby noticed some sort of ancient text on a nearby wall.

As he brushed off some dust, he was able to make it out.

 _When the sky falls away,_

 _Our world comes to an end._

 _Reawaken the undying light._

 _Light will guide you to the ultimate fight._

 _Distant sparks weave into flame, calling to a past still unnamed._

 _._

 _On that day,_

 _Finally we find the way._

 _._

 _Little sparks cling unto life._

 _Infinite souls contain whispers of light._

 _Growing louder as they call to unite._

 _Here were we stand, hand clenched in hand,_

 _Torch bared against the cold of the night._

After reading it, Kirby saw a secret message within.

World Of Light.

Was that where he was? What Galeem had created?

Kirby read it again.

Reawaken the undying light.

Did that mean….they were still alive?!

And that he had to get them back!?

Perhaps he had to fulfill this ancient prophecy to stop Galeem.

Filled with renewed courage, Kirby raced off, his ultimate adventure ready to begin.


	2. Army Of Puppets

Kirby continued down the path until he found himself at what appeared to be the Distant Planet. Last he heard, this was from the Pikmin world. As he traversed forward, he saw a familiar figure. Kirby gasped happily.

Mario! He wasn't dead after all! That prophecy was right!

"HIII!" Kirby waved to him. As he got closer, the pink hero realized that Mario looked a little….different somehow.

His clothing was grey instead of red, and his eyes were red instead of blue. Something wasn't right here.

Suddenly, Mario jumped at Kirby and attacked him! With quick recovery, Kirby began to wonder what was happening. Was this Galeem character controlling the fighters?

Kirby smiled. This wasn't the first time he had fought the Italian legend. He remembered the final fight of the Brawl Tournament, just before the Subspace Army had begun their invasion. Then again, Kirby's memory was hazy. He couldn't recall who won and who he had rescued from Petey Piranha. Nevertheless, he wouldn't fail this time!

Taking a deep breath, Kirby inhaled Mario and copied his abilities. With the trademark red hat, Kirby threw fireballs that countered Mario's own. Upon the final fireball, Mario whipped out his cape and reflected the ball.

Discarding the ability, Kirby leaped up with his Final Cutter, dodging the fireball, then countered by swinging the blade upon landing. Mario dodged this with a Super Jump Punch, knocking purple coins from Kirby.

Countering this, Kirby turned into his Stone form and slammed down. Donning the F.L.U.D.D, Mario pushed the rock aside. With sharp thinking, Kirby charged up his hammer until it burned and swung at Mario. However, there was a sudden change then.

Before impact, Mario's body turned metal, thus absorbing the hit!

Kirby was shocked by this. There was no Metal Box in sight earlier! No matter, for he knew a metal fighter's weakness…

Kirby grabbed Metal Mario and threw him off the edge. Due to his weight, Metal Mario was unable to recover, and thus fell to the bottom, the impact knocking him out.

Kirby floated downwards to wake up Mario, only to see the plumber disintegrate before his very eyes!

This wasn't Mario! It was just a fake this whole time!

Then, Kirby saw something emerge. It looked like a green frog-like creature with red eyes. If Olimar was correct, this was a Smoky Progg. But something was off. The Progg had no body! It was just a floating spirit.

The Progg then made a few noises. It seemed that it wanted to tell Kirby something.

The pink puffball touched the spirit, then his eyes flashed white, and all Kirby saw was darkness.

…

The only light began to emit.

A now-unconscious Mario was being held captive by a series of fibers made from pure energy. Then, a golden liquid, possibly resembling molten metal, was poured on Mario's body, then absorbed by the fibers. The liquid passed through the stand he was on, then created a monochromatic clone of Mario on the opposite end. The lifeless clone dropped to the ground. The Smoky Progg spirit came across it and, seemingly forced to do so, began to possess it, giving it life and glowing red eyes. More eyes began to appear. More and more clones of the fighters, every last one of them, were at the ready.

Of course. It all made sense now.

Galeem copied the fighters, creating empty puppets in their likenesses. Then, Galeem forced the captive spirits to pull the puppets' strings. This army of puppet fighters spread themselves over the last remaining world. Can anyone free the spirits from Galeem's control? Is there any hope for the fallen fighters? The journey to defeat Galeem begins…

…

After Kirby recovered from the flashback the Progg gave him, he realized that the fighters were not dead, but imprisoned. But something troubled him. In the flashback, Kirby saw copies of HIMSELF. But how could Galeem copy Kirby if he had not been captured?

Wait a minute….

Maybe someone with the same physical characteristics took his place…

Meta Knight! Of course!

Kirby remembered when he first defeated Meta Knight and how his mask broke off. How shocked Kirby was when he saw that Meta Knight's face was almost exactly like his! He had no time to ask Meta who he was, as the swordsman had fled via warp from his cape.

Nevertheless, Kirby's goal was clear. Find the remaining 73 fighters and free them!


	3. Freedom Of Stardom

After freeing the spirits of Evee and Celeste, Kirby found himself at none other than the Final Destination. There, he saw the real Mario, who was seemingly under Galeem's control!

Remembering his tactics against the false Mario, Kirby repeated those actions until Mario was defeated and freed.

"Ooooohhhh….. Mama-Mia…." As Mario got up, he seemed utterly confused about what was going on. Luckily, Kirby and the three spirits filled him in on everything, and how they had to save as much fighters as they could before they could confront Galeem.

After the duo freed a Guardian spirit, they were able to free Marth, Sheik, and Villager. However, as Marth had feared, their actions didn't go unnoticed.

As light erupted from a nearby fissure, blocking the path across the bridge, Galeem sent forth three powerful beings into the castle, island, and base.

"He's getting desperate." Sheik summarized. "If we're able to take down the three minions he sent, we might be able to break his shield. And once we've got enough fighters, we'll take the fight to him."

"Then again, there is the matter of clearing the bridge path." Marth added. "We might be able to deactivate the fissure by heading to the temple just northwest of here. But it's blocked by a set of three barriers. There should be a way to deactivate them."

Villager had a depressed expression. The five of them had their work cut out for them.

A plan was devised. Marth would find a way to deactivate the barriers and head to the temple. Sheik would head to the base, Villager and Kirby would go to the island, and Mario would travel to the castle.

It would take a while, but eventually their numbers would expand; big enough to take on Galeem.

The team went their separate ways, ready for whatever awaited them.


	4. World Tour

Time passed, with the numbers increasing slightly. By now, the fighters had rescued Link, Yoshi, Captain Falcon, Jigglypuff, Lucario, and the Mii Swordfighter. They had also discovered that there were worlds within the World of Light, which they called Sub-Worlds. One particular sub-world was the Word Tour, which was from the Street Fighter world, home of the World Warrior and the Fire-Breathing Fist, Ryu and Ken. Captain Falcon and Lucario were at that world, facing off against various spirits from that world: Chun-Li, Blanka, Zangief, Balrog, Vega, Sagat, and M. Bison. Having defeated them all, the two now faced another captive fighter: Ryu.

Having easily defeated Lucario with a Shin Shoryuken, the corrupted fighter faced his next foe.

"Come on! Show ya moves!"

"Talk is cheap."

The two began their battle, with Captain Falcon dodging a Hadoken with a Falcon Dive, then countering with a Falcon Kick. Ryu retaliated with a Tatsumaki Senpukyaku, which the captain recovered from. A well-placed Raptor Boost knocked Ryu down, yet he easily countered with a…

"SHORYUKEN!"

Quickly recovering from the Rising Dragon Fist, Captain Falcon charged up his greatest move, as Ryu prepared his Focus Attack.

"Haaa…."

"FALCON…"

"TUAAA!"

"PUNCH!"

Canceling each other out, the attacks left the two stunned, yet Ryu saw his opportunity.

"Shinku…."

With great force, he blasted the fireball forth!

"HADOKEN!"

Quickly, Captain Falcon leaped over the projectile, landing behind the Street Fighter. Turning around, the F-Zero racer winded up another Falcon Punch….

And scored a direct hit, breaking the control over Ryu.

After learning about what had happened, and what was to be their next move, the World Warrior set off with the other two, his everlasting journey continuing.


	5. Bowser Before Me

This area was all too familiar for Mario. He had gone through castles for over 30 years, so he knew what to expect. Traps, Minions, Switches, and most importantly, Lava. By now the fighters had freed Inkling, Wii Fit Trainer, and Olimar.

As he journeyed throughout the Molten Fortress, he encountered many spirits, such as Ho-Oh, Mechakoopa, Juste Belmont, Leif, Groudon, Shadow Man, Aisya, Twinbellows, Kamek, and Lyon. Mario had even rescued Peach, as he did many times before, although he had to fight her, which he never did.

Now, all that was left was to weaken Galeem's shield by defeating the minion here. And if Mario knew his past as he reached Final Destination, that minion would be none other than….

"MARIO!"

Upon hearing the roar, the red hero jumped back as a giant mutant turtle landed. This foe was none other than Bowser! He was under Galeem's control, yet he acted like he wasn't.

"Thank you for coming," The Koopa King laughed. "But the princess is in another castle! GAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

This time, Mario didn't fall for it.

"Oh, that's right. You may have rescued her, but you aren't leaving this place alive! I will beat you! And I mean it this time!"

Jumping over Bowser's Fire Breath, Mario retaliated with a classic stomp to the head. Yet Bowser kept attacking, using Flying Slam, Whirling Fortress, and Bowser Bomb to get the upper hand. Mario had to think fast. There was no axe to jump on, no rope bridge to send Bowser falling from.

There was, however, a way.

With his ally, Cappy, at the ready, Mario did the jump punch he did countless times previously and hit Bowser square in the jaw as a single giant coin flew out!

"Gah….hah…..ha…." Bowser stumbled back, holding his chest. "Going back to Memory lane, huh? Cheap shot. But do you remember THIS?!"

Getting on all fours, Bowser charged up dark energy as he began to grow and change. After the transformation, he roared, causing Mario to jump in shock.

"OHO NO-HOHOHO!"

"GAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT'S RIGHT! GIGA BOWSER IS BACK, BABY!"

Mario had a flashback of the Melee Tournament, where he had first fought Giga Bowser 19 years ago. Luckily, he could remember how to beat him.

Dodging the claw swipes, headbutts, freezing shell spins, grabs, drops, electric jolts, fire, dark punches, and bites, Mario charged up his pyrokinesis into his biggest attack yet: the Mario Finale!

"OH YEAH! HO-YAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

The spinning fireballs struck Giga Bowser with immense force, causing the transformation to undo, defeating Bowser once again.

"Ugh, my head…..Huh? What? Mario? Is that you? What are you doing here? Do we have a kart race scheduled for today? And why do I feel like I got hit by a bus? The last thing I remember is that I breathed fire alongside this twerp and three other guys, then a beam of light smacked me in the face, and then everything went white."

Mario explained everything.

"So, this Galeem guy's making other guys from the fighters and using ghosts to move around in their bodies?"

"Mm-hm."

"Alright, I'm with ya, but for one thing. If anyone's gonna capture you or finish you off for good, it's gonna be me! Got that?!"

"Okay." Mario nodded.

"Good. Now let's find the others and get this over with!"


	6. About That Base

Having freed Duck Hunt, the Inklings had braved many dangers in the spooky forest. Now, they had stumbled across this old power plant that was deactivated. This seemed to be from their world, as they immediately noticed Zapfish nearby. Accompanying them was Pikachu and his younger self, Pichu. The Inklings had previously seen locked barriers that seemed powerless. Maybe if they could start up the plant, they would open. Normal Zapfish, however, wouldn't have enough juice to start it up. Luckily, there was something that could.

After the four of them defeated a giant Pikachu puppet fighter, the spirit within, the Great Zapfish, took notice of the powerless generator. With the combination of the electric powers of it, the Zapfish, Pikachu, and Pichu, the generator was soon up and running again. Hopefully, it assisted the team at the base, as the doors were sure to open….

…

Once inside the base, Samus and Mega Man searched the area. It seemed dark, with anything likely to leap out of the shadows. There was a set of energy gates, labeled 1 through 5. Maybe there was a way to shut them down.

The two of them had to fight through many spirits, but eventually they managed to lower all the gates. They even managed to find and free the espionage master, Snake, from Galeem's control. Now, all they had to do was to find the minion here and take it down.

They had searched the entire base and were now close to the exit bay. Suddenly, both Samus's visor and Mega Man's optics read "WARNING" as a giant tank-like vehicle crashed down.

"Oh, great." Snake sighed. "Not this guy again."

"Just who is 'this guy'?" Mega Man asked.

"One of the Subspace Army's greatest robots." Samus replied. "Galleom."

The hulking machine roared as it prepared for battle.

"Guess the hedgehog would love to see this." Snake sighed.

"You know Sonic?" Mega Man asked.

"He saved my butt back when Tabuu prepared to finish me off."

"Don't worry, I've fought robots before."

"Same, but it's been 10 years since I fought him."

"Enough talk." Samus said. "Time to take out this tin can!"

The trio charged, with Galleom at the ready. Snake dodged missiles, Samus fired missiles, and Mega Man fired his Mega Buster at the robot.

In a matter of minutes, with C4s, Plasma Charges, and Solar Pellets, Galleom was down.

Now, there was only one minion left. But with the fissure in the way, that could be a problem.


	7. How To Hunt Your Monster

With Donkey Kong, Link, Yoshi, Fox, Jigglypuff, Ice Climbers, Falco, Mr. Game And Watch, Pit, Pokémon Trainer Red, Diddy Kong, Lucas, Olimar, Wii Fit Trainer, Simon, Isabelle, Little Mac, Pac Man, and Mii Swordfighter freed, the fighters continued with their mission.

With help from Pit, Marth was able to get through the Temple of Light and bring down the fissure (despite Pit calling Marth, "Mr. Fancy Pants").

With it down, the fighters pressed on. DK and Diddy headed to DK Island to get their banana horde back (presumably the work of that King K. Rool crook), while Link, Kirby, and Villager traveled to the island.

As the pink fellow and the happy man freed more spirits, Link traveled deeper into the island. There, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. Then again, many of these places were unfamiliar. There were a couple of warning signs, along with a human body. It looked like it was killed by something.

Even more difficult, Link had somehow lost the Master Sword when he was captured. He would just have to stick with a normal one until he could get it back. If he knew right, the Bane of Darkness was back in Hyrule.

But how to get there in this twisted world?

Suddenly, a loud deafening roar broke the hero from his thoughts. He whirled around to see a massive dragon fly above before landing in front of him! It let out a roar as Link prepared himself. After all, he had slain dragons before…

He shot an arrow as he leaped out of the way of a fireball. Shaking the arrow off, the dragon charged as Link dodged again, throwing his boomerang at the beast. Avoiding the fangs and talon, Link armed a Rune Bomb and threw it at the monster.

It was devoured.

Luckily, this wasn't the same bombs he had used in the 4th Tournament 4 years ago. Link activated his Sheikah Slate, causing the remote bomb to detonate.

Roaring in anger, the dragon flew up and dove at Link, who dodged the swoop. Noticing some gear nearby, Link used them to his advantage. Barrels exploded when they hit the beast, and the others either stunned or sent it falling to the ground.

Link threw the blade at the beast. Stricken in the heart, the beast let out one last roar before collapsing.

Pulling the sword out, Link swung it a few times, twirled it, then sheathed it. It was then that he noticed someone wearing armor similar to the beast.

"Nice work bringing down that Rathalos!" She said. "You'd make a great Monster Hunter!"

Link was confused. He asked the woman about the beast.

"Oh. Well, a Rathalos is one of the most dangerous beasts here in Forest Hill. I heard that it was lurking within this place, Ancestral Stepp. It had killed the last hunter who had left some of their equipment lying around. Seems like you put those Flash Bombs, Barrel Bombs, and Pitfall Traps to good use! And with that gear of your own as well? Clearly, this isn't your first time hunting these beasts."

Link then explained to the apparent Monster Hunter about why he was truly here. That the Rathalos was a minion of Galeem and that this world may have been merged with the others, despite the hero having never seen this one before.

"Hold on, you're saying you're not from here?!" The Monster Hunter gasped. "Hmm, then again, that would explain why that Rathalos was far more stronger than a normal Rathalos. I was thinking it had something to do with evolution. And this Galeem thing: Is it a monster too?"

Link shook his head.

"Huh. Well, I guess things like that are your kind of thing. I'll stick to my current job, thank you very much. You can head back to your own world. Or dimension. Sorry, this is all too new for me."

Link nodded, then headed off.


	8. World Of Darkness

Having completed a Gourmet Race (again) while Link was busy, Kirby noticed something.

With all three minions defeated, the force field surrounding Galeem had been destroyed. But there was something else.

The fighters had managed to free all the fighters they could find, but there were still some missing. Simon couldn't find his descendant, Richter, and Sonic was still a no-show. Something was wrong.

But the only thing that had the answers was waiting for them. Kirby looked to Mario, who nodded. It was time to finish what they started…

…

 _"_ _AH, SO YOU MANAGED TO EVADE CAPTURE, LITTLE PINK CREATURE."_ Galeem boasted. _"AND YOU EVEN MANAGED TO FREE SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS AS WELL."_

"Enough with the games, Galeem!" Shulk said. "Where's the rest of them?!"

 _"_ _I FIGURED THAT YOU WOULD TRY TO FREE THEM, SO I HID THEM IN A PLACE THAT IS INACCESABLE TO ANY OF YOU, BOY."_ Galeem boomed. _"BUT SINCE YOU HAVE CHOSEN TO STAND AGAINST ME RATHER THAN BE OF ASSISSTANCE…SO BE IT!"_

"Assistance?! What is he talking about?" Pit asked. "I thought he was trying to kill us!"

"Now's not the time!" Marth warned. "Get ready! The final encounter draws near."

"Yeah! We'll REALLY win this time!" Pit agreed. "I'm sure of it!"

The fighters charged, with Galeem creating Light copies of them. Each fighter battled against their own copy, with Kirby facing off against Galeem himself.

 _"_ _I HAD PLANNED FOR THIS."_ The light being said. _"I HAVE WATCHED ALL OF YOUR DIMENSIONS EVER SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING. I KNEW THAT WARP STAR OF YOURS WOULD BE POWERFUL ENOUGH TO JUMP ACROSS SPACE AND TIME. I KNEW JUST HOW POWERFUL YOU AND YOUR ALLIES COULD BE. THAT IS ONE CRUCIAL DETAIL THAT ALL OF YOUR PREVIOUS FOES OVERLOOKED."_

Kirby was utterly confused. "Hm?"

 _"_ _AH, YES. YOU HAVE QUESTIONS. MASTER HAND, GIGA BOWSER, TABUU, MASTER CORE. HOW DO I KNOW THEM? BECAUSE EVEN GODS HAVE GODS."_

Kirby wondered, before realizing what Galeem meant.

 _"_ _YES. IT WAS I WHO BROUGHT THEM INTO EXISTENCE. MASTER HAND WAS MY FIRST CREATION, BUT WHEN HE FELL, I SUMMONED HIM BACK. THEN I DREAMT. IF ONE IS NOT ENOUGH, WHY NOT HAVE MORE? THUS, I CREATED PUPPETS OF EVEN HIM, JUST AS I DID YOU. ALTHOUGH I DID NOT CREATE GIGA BOWSER, I DID BRING FORTH THE SMASH BALL PROTOTYPE THAT BESTOWED SUCH POWER. THE KOOPA FOOL COULD NEVER LEARN HOW TO PROPERLY CONTROL IT. MY PLAN WAS FOR YOU ALL TO GAIN THEM AND THUS DESTROY YOURSELVES FROM SUCH IMMENSE POWER. HOWEVER, TABUU, CRAZY HAND, AND MASTER CORE DID NOT COME FORTH FROM MY IMAGINATION. I WOULD EXPLAIN EVERYTHING, BUT YOU HAVE PROVEN YOURSELF AND YOUR BAND OF WARRIORS TOO INFERIOR TO UNDERSTAND! THUS, IF YOU SHALL NOT LISTEN TO REASON, THAN YOU SHALL LISTEN TO MY FURY! IF YOU SHALL NOT SEE THE LIGHT, THAN SEE IT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL!"_

Kirby and the fighters continued the onslaught, with the pink hero dealing the final blow, drawing his Ultra Sword and slicing the core of Galeem in half!

 _"_ _GAAAAAAHHHHH!"_

The yell broke through the sky as the core reformed from the damage. Yellow bursts of light energy flooded out of him as the Master Hands turned to him.

 _"_ _YOU FOOLS…"_ Galeem spoke, clearly hurt. _"YOU ARE STILL UNAWARE OF THE TRUE THREAT. YOU MAY AS WELL…HAVE DOOMED US ALL…"_

In a flash, Galeem became a streak of light as he retreated.

"Yeah, that's right!" Mega Man said. "You better run!"

The fighters celebrated their victory, until Mario noticed something. It wasn't long until the others saw it as well.

"Uh, guys?" Pit asked. "Is it me, or is the sky literally falling?"

The crack in the sky grew and grew until a black gaping hole into nothingness opened. A single evil eye peeked out as multiple Crazy Hands creeped out. The Master Hands fought them, but without Galeem, they fell easily.

Some of the fighters, like Kirby and Mario, readied themselves, while others, like the Kongs, yelped and hid in cowardly fashion.

"Who…WHAT is THAT?!" Pit gasped.

"Such dark energy…" Sheik gasped. "Could it be stronger than even Ganon?"

Red readied his Pokémon trio.

"Woah." Bowser's jaw dropped. "And I thought I looked scary…"

The eye emerged from the hole, giant spiked tentacles flowing around it.

 **"** **I…"** The eye boomed in a deep and malevolent voice. **"I…AM THE DESTROYER OF ALL. THE CONSUMER OF REALITIES. THE GOD OF ALL THAT WAS, AND ALL THAT EVER WILL BE. I AM NOTHING. I EXISTED BEFORE ALL BEGAN, AND I WILL EXIST LONG AFTER ALL ENDS. I…AM…DHARKON. AND THIS IS MY WORLD NOW."**

With Galeem, the lord of light, defeated, darkness takes hold. In the blink of an eye, the land is swallowed by shadow. Galeem's spirits and puppet fighters fall under its control. The embodiment of chaos and darkness...

Dharkon.


	9. One Blade To Hyrule Them All

The fighters awakened to find themselves within a dark and twisted world.

"Well, that got dark." Bowser gulped. "Literally."

"I heard Galeem say that he was the one who created Master Hand and the first Smash Ball that drove you berserk." Snake said. "Do you think that this 'Dharkon' was the one responsible for creating Crazy Hand, Tabuu, and Master Core?"

"It seems that way." Ryu added. "It seems much more stronger than the Satsui no Hado. And I believe that everyone that we didn't free yet now serve it. I dare not imagine what horrors it may have done to them. Especially my friend and rival, Ken."

"And Richter." Simon said. "How ironic. A monster slayer now being manipulated by a monster. But this wasn't the first, I believe. I remember Alucard, spawn of Dracula, tell me of his fight with my successor."

"Same here." Mega Man added. "But I don't think this was the first time Sonic had a 'dark side'."

Observing the area around them, Mario noticed three purple meteors crash down around them. One north, one southwest, and one southeast. No doubt his brother was in one of those areas…

"Those must be Dharkon's minions." Sheik said. "And the area southwest of here…that MUST be Hyrule. I can sense the dark power it emits. It's one I know all too well…"

"And that must be Dracula's Castle." Simon pointed southeast. "My descendant is, without a doubt, there. As is Alucard's accursed father."

Noticing something, King Dedede patted Kirby to get his attention, then pointed north. Kirby saw the weird distorted dimension before them. The two knew that this was the work of one of their old foes…

With that, the team split up to investigate the three areas.

…

Sheik, Link, and Toon Link treaded through the Sacred Land of their home dimension. Link's alternate self was a little confused, as this wasn't the Hyrule he was used too.

"Your younger self should be here somewhere. As should Ganondorf." Sheik added. "But something's interfering with my magic. I cannot turn back."

Link nodded, as he knew clearly the face under the mask. His cartoon counterpart, however, was still dumbstruck.

"And that normal sword of yours." Sheik added. "You must have lost the Master Sword when we were attacked. It should still be here somewhere. Be on your guard."

The team progressed forward, encountering many challenges. Eventually, they were able to free most of the fighters, including a copy of Zelda, the one blocking Sheik's magic. Once she fell, Sheik was able to change back into the Princess of Hyrule (much to Toon Link's shock).

Freeing Young Link, the team now had one more mission: to recover the Master Sword.

But the pedestal it was in was being guarded by the remaining two fighters in Hyrule: Meta Knight and Sonic The Hedgehog, armed with his gauntlet and a dark version of Caliburn.

Link and Sonic traded blows, with the elf blocking a spin dash with his Hylian Shield and his sword clashing against Caliburn. Meta Knight then kicked Link aside.

Link threw his boomerang, which Meta Knight dodged, his cape becoming demonic wings to match his control under Dharkon.

Seeing their counterpart in trouble, Young and Toon got into position and readied their arrows, hidden from sight in nearby bushes. They had to wait for just the right time…

Meta Knight's blows with Galaxia was a little too much for Link to block.

Young lit his arrow ablaze.

Meta Knight knocked Link into the air, with Sonic sending him crashing back down. The two then rushed at him, leaping into the air.

 _NOW!_ Zelda ordered telepathically.

Young and Toon fired their arrows, Young's hitting Sonic in the heart, Toon's hitting Meta Knight.

The fighters fell to the ground, the fire on Sonic's heart going out as he and Meta Knight faded back to their normal selves. The gauntlet and Caliburn, being dark copies, faded into nothingness.

"Uhhh…." Sonic groaned. "My brains feels like it's doing a spin dash in my skull…"

"Hedgehog? Is that you?" Meta Knight groaned. "What happened?"

"I don't know. I was trying to save Pikachu, saw him get eaten by one of those light beam thingies, and then, BAM! Everything went white. This guy's just like Solaris! Strange, I remember him and how I fought him, but not much else…"

It was then that they noticed the fighters with them.

"Hey, aren't you those elf guys?"

"Princess Zelda!" Meta Knight bowed. "Forgive me if I struck you. That Galeem creature must have forced me to abandon the Code of Chivalry."

"Who we face now is more dangerous than Galeem ever was." Zelda said, using her magic to play the scene in which the fighters first met Dharkon.

"What monstrosity…?"

"Woah! That thing's just like Dark Gaia! But way more creepier…"

"By freeing you, we have managed to free all the brave souls in Hyrule." Zelda said. "Now, only one thing remains. Link, reclaim your sword and defeat Ganon once again!"

Nodding, Link walked up to the pedestal and, as countless times before, pulled out the Master Sword.

Now with the Bane of Darkness, the team headed to the only place Zelda knew Ganon would hide: His castle lair.

There, they met with the King of Darkness once again.

"He is under the influence of Dharkon." Zelda said. "With the entity's power combined with his own, he will be stronger than ever before. Be on your guard, Link. Never have you failed to stop him. Do not do so now."

Link nodded, then began to face the Demon King.

 **"** **We meet again, boy."** Ganondorf laughed. **"With you wielding that impressive-looking blade as always. But nothing more. Would you like to hear my desire? To take this foul blade, and use it to blot out the light forever!"**

Ganondorf than drew his own sword.

"Woah." Sonic said. "He rarely used that in the last tournament." He turned to Young and Toon. "Well, I guess you're gonna see how it's REALLY done!"

The mystical barrier went up as the two warriors clashed blades. The duel seemed too intense to look away from.

"And me without a chili dog." Sonic sighed. "Well, at least this reminds me of when I fought that evil King Arthur."

"Indeed." Meta Knight added. "Even Kirby proved to be more of a match."

Eventually, Link was able to block a strike with his shield, then countered by knocking the sword away, then stabbing Ganondorf in the heart!

 **"** **Guh! Heh…huhuhuhuh…"** Ganondorf only laughed. **"Quick as always. But did you really think that this was my final form?"**

Pulling the sword out, Link remained on guard as Ganondorf got up.

 **"** **Ah. So you do know. I heard some of your friends speak of their pasts. Well then, perhaps I should help you regain some of your old memories…"**

Ganondorf then charged up his magic, laughing as he began to change and grow.

The barrier turned ablaze with fire, the Triforce of Power glowing brightly on Ganondorf's fist. Soon, he became the massive boar-like beast buried deep into Link's memory.

 **"** **BEHOLD, MY TRUE FORM, COMPANIONS OF THE LIGHT!"** The beast roared. **"I AM GANON, THE DEMON KING, RUINER OF HYRULE, AND LORD OF DARKNESS!"**

He swung his blades wildly, hitting Link and knocking the Master Sword out of his grasp. Thinking quickly, this time Link threw his boomerang at the sword before it passed through the fire, the stick catching the blade and coming back. Catching both, Link turned around to face his old adversary.

Dodging the blades, fiery breath, and lightning from the blades, Link rolled under the giant hooves and struck Ganon in the only known weak point the Master Sword could create: Ganon's tail.

Roaring, Ganon whirled around and charged, with Link dodging. Avoiding many stomps, fireballs, malice beams, swings, and spins, Link used his Ancient Bow and Arrow to pierce Ganon's heart, weakening him severely.

Then, with several swinging blows, Link stabbed the Master Sword into Ganon's head, green blood spurting out (which made Young, Toon, and Sonic nauseous).

As Ganon flailed around wildly, he roared before exploding. Ganondorf, now free of Dharkon's control, fell to the ground.

"See?" Sonic said. "Told you two you were the best! Pretty sure you each fought your own version of Wild Boar here."

Link sheathed his Master Sword as the fire died down. Ganondorf then woke.

"W…What?" He groaned. "Where am I? What is this pain?"

"I understand your actions towards us." Zelda said. "But now, we face an evil that dwarves even yours. If we are to survive, then, like with Tabuu, we must join forces and work together."

"But if not," Sonic added. "I'll be happy to send you into next week."

Looking around, Ganondorf noticed his old enemies, along with familiar faces from previous tournaments. Seeing the same scene Zelda had shown Sonic and Meta Knight, Ganondorf sighed in defeat.

"This will be the last time, Princess." He scowled. "Never again."

Courage. Wisdom. Power. With all pieces of the Triforce, the team then headed off to meet with the other fighters.


	10. Belmont Van Helsing

Simon and Sonic stepped into the haunted castle. The storm outside grew louder and louder.

"Eh. I've seen better." Sonic said. "At least it's not inhabited by ghosts and I'm not a werehog this time."

"Ah, yes. Your wolf form." Simon added. "That 'Dark Gaia' being cursed you with that form, if I'm correct."

"Yeah. But don't sweat it. It was only 10 years ago. And besides, it's gone now."

"Beware, hedgehog." Simon said. "These monsters are unlike any you have seen before. Or have faced."

As they trekked down the halls, Sonic noticed pictures of the monsters Belmont may have referred to. There was a Medusa Head (not like the one Pit faced), a creature and a flea-like man, a werewolf, and a giant head with purple bloody tears. The painting called it "Carmilla". There was even a ridiculous monster which the painting called "Kid Dracula".

"That was not one of the monsters I had faced." Simon said. "But the artwork here misses one foe dangerous enough to rival Dracula."

"And that would be?"

Sonic had no time to get an answer. Lightning lit up the area, revealing a massive skeleton with no legs, a hood, and a massive scythe!

"OH CRAP!" Sonic yelped. "You fought the Grim Reaper?!"

"Death." Simon scowled. "I should've known. You rarely leave your master's lair."

 ** _"_** ** _And you shall not meet him, Simon Belmont, nor shall your little friend."_** Death chuckled. **_"You shall die like dogs at his door!"_**

Death readied his scythe to reap the soul of the speedster…

Before getting hit by Simon's cross!

"The little green man was as far as you'll go!" Simon yelled. "Now, surrender Richter Belmont! I know he is prisoner here!"

 ** _"_** ** _As you wish. But be warned: He is not like himself these days."_** Death laughed coldly. **_"Oh, and for the blue beast, I have a little something extra for you."_**

Beside Death, out stepped the controlled fighters of Richter and a red fighter.

"Hey, wait a minute!" Sonic said. "You're Ken! Ryu's pal!"

The flaming fist said nothing.

"I hoped it would never have to come to this, descendant." Simon said. "To become the very thing you swore to slay. A monster."

"Yeah, you heard him!" Sonic added. "Simon says snap out of it!"

Death pointed forth a cold bony finger, and the two fighters charged.

Simon clashed his Holy Whip with Richter's as Sonic dodged a Hadoken. The hedgehog leaped to avoid a Shoryuken as Simon uppercutted his inheritor.

"Is this what you desire, successor?!" Simon roared. "To stain the blood of the Belmonts?! Surely, this is the work of that accursed being of darkness!"

"Man, you're good!" Sonic panted. "Kinda like Knuckles!"

Managing to overpower Richter, Simon was able to defeat him. As the dark aura faded, Simon knew that he wouldn't come to for quite some time. At least he could improvise…

 ** _"_** ** _You seek to face me? Oh, I have waited so long for this…"_**

"Wait longer." Simon growled as he threw a bottle of Holy Water into the skull. Death roared as the flames burned him.

 ** _"_** ** _YOU CANNOT ESCAPE DEATH! YOU CANNOT CHEAT DEATH!"_** Death screamed as he retreated. **_"I ALWAYS WIN IN THE END! YOU SHALL SEE SOON, BELMONT! ALL OF YOU SHALL SEE!"_**

As the shadow of Death faded, so did the dark aura of Ken as he and Richter woke up.

"A…Ancestor Simon?" Richter groaned. "Where…wait…Dracula's Castle?"

"The work of a being far more greater than Galeem." Simon said. "And Dracula is one of its minions."

"Dracula has returned?! Well, I beat him before, I can do so again!"

"Yes, but not alone this time. I fought him as well."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Richter said. "Let's go send him back where he came from!"

Sonic was tending to Ken as the Belmonts climbed the stairs.

"Ow…man, that was hard." Ken groaned. "Wait…you're that hedgehog whose friends with that robot."

"Who, Megs?" Sonic chuckled. "Well, the Belmont boys are gonna face an immortal vampire, but for now, I should get you out of here. Ryu's been worried sick about you."

"What?!" Ken gasped. "Ryu?! He's alive?!"

"Apparently, we all are. Thought it was the end, not gonna lie."

"Well, monsters aren't my thing." Ken said. "We should go before something leaps out of the shadows."

And with that, the two headed back to the other fighters.

…

Thunder and lightning illuminated the coffin as Simon and Richter got to the highest floor of the castle. There, they met their old-as-time enemy.

Count Dracula.

"Die, monster!" Richter shouted. "You don't belong in this world!"

"It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh." Dracula said. "I was called here by humans who wish to pay me tribute."

 _He's delusional._ Simon thought. _Dharkon's warping his mind to make him think our kind was the one who brought him back!_

"Tribute!?" Simon yelled. "You steal men's souls and make them your slaves!"

"Perhaps the same could be said for all religions…" Dracula replied.

"Your words are as empty as your soul." Richter said back. "Mankind ill needs a savior such as you!"

"What is a man?" Dracula said, tossing aside the glass of wine, making it crash onto the floor. "A miserable little pile of secrets." He got up. "But enough talk… Have at you!"

The Belmonts readied their holy whips. Once again, their great battle began. Avoiding the bats and spells, the hunters cracked their Holy Whips against Dracula's head, as the rest of his body could have the attacks phase right through.

"I still remember when you cursed me with death from the inside out." Simon said. "Unfortunately for you, rebirth and death both by my hands could undo such a thing."

"You do remember the last words of your wife when Alucard destroyed you, right?" Richter added. "Do not hate humans. If you cannot live with them, then at least do them no harm, for theirs is already a hard lot."

"Such meaning is nothing to me anymore." Dracula taunted. "For now, I shall wipe out two generations at once, and cast this world into eternal darkness!"

"We shall see." Simon growled. "BEGONE!"

Dracula knocked him back and sent flames his way, but they were ultimately blocked by Richter. And with a lucky strike, Dracula fell to one knee.

"Playtime's over!" The vampire hissed. "Grant me power!"

And with his dark magic, Dracula transformed into his second form. The winged demon roared at the two adversaries.

Richter, familiar with this form, helped Simon with this new beast. Either the older Belmont had never faced it, or he had forgotten about that encounter.

Dodging breath attacks, claw swipes, and attacks of brute force, the Belmonts began to harness their true power.

Simon threw an axe that struck the beast's head.

"Now!"

The two summoned a massive coffin that sucked the beast in. The coffin was ensnared by both Holy Whips.

"Out of my way!"

The Belmonts threw the coffin upwards so that it was in front of the full blood-red moon. Then, they unleashed their ultimate attack together.

"GRAND CROSS!"

The massive energy pierced through the coffin, destroying it and severely weakening the monster inside. Dracula fell to the ground as daylight began to seep into the castle.

"No! This cannot be!" Dracula screamed. "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

And with the beast aflame and exploding, the castle disintegrated and died alongside her master.

"Well, I guess we won't be seeing him for another few centuries or so." Richter chuckled.

"Indeed." Simon added. "But for now, let us rejoin the others. This battle is far from over."


	11. X Marx The Spot

This Mysterious Dimension twisted and turned every which way.

By this point, the fighters had managed to free everyone.

Well, ALMOST everyone. Roy, Dark Samus, Palutena, and Bayonetta were still nowhere in sight.

Kirby ventured deeper and deeper into the dark terrain. Many trivial riddles had laid out before him, and he had to fight the right spirit to progress. This was clearly the work of Marx.

Kirby began remembering the last time they fought. He remembered the sun and moon fighting day and night. Now, it seemed like Galeem was that sun, and Dharkon was that moon.

Kirby believed that peace could be made between the sun and moon. Marx had told him to asking the giant comet Galactic Nova for help.

But the pink one was tricked.

The conflict between the sun and moon was Marx's doing, as was the plan of Kirby going into space. Marx had even intercepting the wish Kirby was about to make and thus wish to rule all of Planet Popstar. Galactic Nova had granted this wish, thus having Marx reveal his true form.

Kirby had to stop all that mischief. And there was only one way to do so.

By riding the Warp Star, Kirby confronted Marx on Popstar's moon.

The battle was intense, with Kirby giving it everything he got. Eventually, Marx was sent into the remains of Nova, destroying it completely.

However, although peace was finally restored between the sun and moon, Marx had absorbed the remaining energy of Nova and ascended into Marx Soul.

Luckily, Kirby was able to defeat Marx once again.

As Kirby entered what appeared to be Popstar's moon once again, he had the feeling he wasn't alone.

"Hello, old friend."

Kirby whirled around.

"Didja miss me?" Marx cackled. "You might be wondering, 'How the heck did this guy come back?'. Well, let me tell ya something. Sure, you may have foiled my plans to rule Popstar way back when, but then this Darken guy or whatever his name is came up to me and said 'Hey, why rule one world when you can rule all of them?'. So, of course, he granted me unlimited power which I will now use to turn you into a pretty pink pancake! Buh-Bye!"

Lifting into the air, Marx changed into his True Form and laughed. Kirby readied himself.

Marx warped around, using powered-up attacks Kirby had seen before. He knew that Marx was under Dharkon's control, but just didn't act like it. Using this knowledge, Kirby was able to deal some blows on Marx.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot!" Marx laughed. "Mr. Evil Eye gave me some new powers that you never knew of! This ought to squash ya flat! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

His eyes went completely black, the black balls came out and bounced towards Kirby. Dodging these, Kirby saw Marx's wings change. Pink branching appendages, like blood vessels, snaked out to burn Kirby. Marx's eyes changed again, this time bulging and growing more dots before shooting out lasers!

Kirby dodged all this, then proceeded to inhale large enough to mirror what he did back on his quest to fight Queen Sectonia. The vortex was large enough to suck Marx in!

Once he was inhaled, Kirby spat Marx out, sending him screaming and flying around the place, his wings coming off and reverting to his smaller form. He landed face first onto the ground, the purple flame going out.

Now with all three minions dealt with, Kirby headed back to the other fighters, ready to truly finish this.


	12. Unafraid Of The Dark

**"** **SO, ONCE AGAIN, YOU RETURN TO THE VOID."** Dharkon boomed. **"YOU SEEM EAGER FOR MY DEMISE. BUT YOU MISUNDERSTAND. THE DARKNESS I AM CAN NEVER BE EXTINGUISHED! COME!"**

Once again, the fighters fought copies of themselves, this time red and black rather than blue and white. And rather than Kirby facing the god of darkness, this time the task fell into the hands of iconic legends Mario and Sonic.

 **"** **AH…"** Dharkon laughed. **"THE RED MAN OF THE KINGDOM OF MUSHROOMS. AND THE BLUE SAVIOR OF THE GREEN HILLS. IN BOTH OF YOUR WORLDS, I BELIEVE, YOU HAVE FACED SOMETHING SIMILAR TO ME."**

Mario nodded.

"You bet your big baddie eye I have!" Sonic taunted. "The Dark Queen, Dark Gaia, Dr. Eggman's Nega Wisp Armor, The Time Eater, Infinite, I beat them all!"

 **"** **BUT WHAT ARE YOU TO DO NOW?"** Dharkon asked. **"YOU LACK THE SEVEN CRYSTAL STARS. YOU ARE WITHOUT THE SEVEN CHAOS EMERALDS. AND AGAINST ME? WELL, I KNOW FOR CERTAIN THAT THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME YOU HAVE FACED YOUR END. ALTHOUGH, NOT IN THIS TIMELINE…"**

Dharkon sent forth two dark copies. Mario recognized one of them to be Dark Bowser, who he and Luigi helped take down when they were inside Bowser!

However, Sonic had trouble with the copy HE faced.

"Who's that supposed to be? Shadow?"

 **"** **HE IS FAR MUCH MORE."** Dharkon said. **"A SHADOW OF A SHADOW. A FOE LONG FORGOTTEN IN YOUR PAST, SONIC. THIS IS WHAT I CONSIDER TO BE YOUR GREATEST ADVERSARY: MEPHILES THE DARK."**

"And he's my greatest adversary why?"

 **"** **IN AN ALTERNATE TIMELINE, HE PROVED TO BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO HANDLE…"**

"So he beat me easily? Like when I first fought Infinite?"

 **"** **OH, HE DID SO MUCH MORE THAN DEFEAT YOU."** Dharkon laughed. **"HE DESTROYED YOU!"**

"Wait, hang on, WHAT?!" Sonic gasped. "As in…offed me?! Killed me?!"

 **"** **EXACTLY."** Dharkon laughed. **"AND I BEARED WITNESS BY PEEPING INTO YOUR DIMENSION. ALTHOUGH THIS MOMENT WAS ERASED, I STILL KEPT IT AS MY OWN. THE DARKEST CHAPTER IN YOUR NEVERENDING STORY."**

With a purple flash from his eye, Dharkon showed Sonic the acts of his ultimate foe.

Mephiles first coming into existence as a dark liquid.

Shadow using a vial of sorts to imprisoning it.

Mephiles being freed and meeting Shadow once again, the latter somehow confused about what Mephiles was saying.

The dark being in a fiery world, deceiving Silver and Blaze by telling them that Sonic was the "Iblis Trigger", the one responsible for the world's current devastation.

Silver going back and time and confronting Sonic, seemingly ready to kill him.

Mephiles fighting Shadow, first in a volcano, and again in the desert.

Mephiles taunting Shadow, stating that he would be captured for "destroying the world", and stating to Omega that he would be to one who imprisons Shadow.

Silver learning the truth.

Mephiles firing an energy spear from behind Sonic, dealing the fatal blow.

Mephiles merging with a flaming beast.

Mephiles and the beast, "Iblis", becoming the same foe Sonic fragmentally remembered: Solaris.

The dark flashbacks ended as Sonic snapped out of it.

"Oh man…" He whispered. "That IS dark."

 **"** **AND YOU BELIEVE GALEEM KILLED YOU ALL?"** Dharkon laughed. **"HA! THE FOOL! HE WAS ONLY USING YOU! PUPPETS TO BUILD HIS ARMY, AN ARMY, TO STOP ME! ME! HA! WHEN WILL HE REALIZE? AND I MUST SAY, SINCE HE MISSED ONE, JUST ONE, HIS PLAN FAILED AS HIS OWN SOLDIERS TURNED AGAINST HIM! AND THUS, BROUGHT ABOUT A FATE MUCH WORSE THAN DEATH. ME. I WOULD THANK YOU FOR RIDDING THE WORLD OF THAT FOOL, BUT YOU WOULD NOT ACCEPT. BESIDES, YOU THOUGHT GALEEM KILLED. WELL, IF ANYTHING SHALL BE YOUR END, IT SHALL BE ME!"**

The two fighters clashed with the dark copies, Mario jumping over shadowy fire as Sonic dodged the energy spears that would spell his demise.

All the while, Dharkon laughed.

As the copies were beaten, they began to change. Mario and Sonic were shocked at what they saw next: Dark demonic versions of themselves!

"WHA!"

 **"** **THE ARCHIVES NEVER REVEALED ANY OF THIS."** Dharkon laughed. He gestured his tentacles towards the evil Sonic. **"BUT THERE ARE OTHER BEINGS WHO WATCH ALL OF YOUR WORLDS. THEY ARE FASCINATED, AND THUS ATTEMPT TO CREATE COPIES OF YOUR WORLDS. AND THIS ONE IMPRESSED ME. I BELIEVE THEY CALL THIS " ". SUCH DARKNESS LIKE NEVER BEFORE. A "CREEPYPASTA", IF I AM RIGHT. THUS, MYSELF INSPIRED, I CREATED MORE PUPPETS LIKE THIS ONE. AND THIS ONE IS BY FAR MY MOST IMPRESSIVE."**

Dharkon gestured to three copies of the Links, all wearing Majora's Mask. They were fighting Link, Young, and Toon.

 **"** **I CALL HIM "BEN". DROWNED IN THE BEINGS' WORLD, HIS SOUL ENDED UP IN AN ALTERNATE REALITY OF THE ELF'S DIMENSION. HE HAUNTS THAT REALITY, SAYING TO ALL WHO VIEW IT THAT "THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT". AND NOW, EXPERIENCE ALL THOSE HORRORS!"**

The two legends fought their dark copies, eventually successful in destroying them. Thus, Dharkon fought them himself.

Mario jumped on the eye as Sonic ran up one of the tentacles before spinning into the eye, followed by several homing attacks, just like with Dark Gaia.

 **"** **GAH! YOU PESTS!"**

Dharkon lashed out once again, with the fighters dodging each and every one. Eventually, with a combined spin attack from both Mario and Sonic, Dharkon was defeated, but only temporary.

 **"** **HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!"** He roared. **"YOU CANNOT STOP THE DARKNESS! THE MERGED MULTIVERSE IS MINE!"**

With that, Dharkon retreated, with a yellow streak following him into the black hole.

"Hey, that's Galeem!" Pit yelled.

Quickly, the fighters rushed after the two of them.


	13. The Ultimate Final Battle

Mario skidded to a halt with all the fighters close behind. There, over the cliff, above the waters, they saw what could be described as the ultimate battle of light and darkness.

 **"** **YOU WERE ALWAYS A FOOL, GALEEM! THE FOUR MULTIVERSES ARE MINE TO DESTROY! EVEN THEY MUST COME TO AN END EVENTUALLY!"**

 _"_ _THEY MUST BE SPARED SUCH A FATE, DHARKON! THEIR DESTINIES WERE NEVER MEANT TO INTERTWINE! TIME MUST BE RESET AND CHANGED! THUS, THEY WILL ALWAYS BE SEPARATE!"_

The eye and core fired beams of purple and yellow energy that locked, as multiple hands bashed each other. Down below, on the water surface, infinite amounts of fighter copies, both light and dark, battled one another eternally.

"If there wasn't so much at stake," The Mii Gunner gasped. "I would almost think this was beautiful."

"Who would have thought that in the beginning of everything, there were two beings that would watch over all of our universes." The Mii Brawler said.

"They must've gotten sick of watching." The Mii Swordfighter said. "They felt like our actions for the past 20 years was disrupting all of the space-time continuum."

Suddenly, Shulk felt a massive headache. It was unlike any he had seen before.

Suddenly, his right eye turned purple and his left eye turned yellow.

The Monado was giving him a vision unlike any he had before.

…

In that vision, Shulk couldn't believe what was happening. The Monado was not showing him one, but TWO futures at the same time!

 _This never happened before!_ Shulk thought. _What's going to happen?!_

On his left, he saw Dharkon, weak and unable to fight. On his right, across the barrier, Galeem was in the same state.

Dharkon was blasted by beams of light.

Galeem was chained up and impaled.

On his left, Galeem used his powers to consume the universe once more, this time more powerful than before. All was devoured by the light as everything reset.

On his right, to Shulk's horror, everyone dropped dead and lifeless, the boy included. The world became rotted into a necrotic desert, and thus became destroyed.

As the visions ended, the last thing Shulk saw was the Eye of Dharkon and the Core of Galeem staring back at him, the world either completely bright or dark forever.

…

Shulk gasped as he was thrown back into reality.

"Another vision?" Chrom asked.

"Yes, but…there was two of them this time." Shulk panted. "Either the future is consumed by light or swallowed by darkness."

"So, lemme guess." Sonic said. "Either way, we're doomed."

"Indeed." Shulk said. "Galeem might wipe us all out again, but I think what Dharkon does is much worse."

"So, we have a choice to make." Corrin sighed. "It seems that decisions that will change my life forever will always be a part of my destiny…"

"But this is more than just picking a side in a war this time." His female counterpart added. "I believe that the inevitable has finally come. Our stories end today…"

"Oh man," Pit gulped. "I STILL never learned how to read!"

Luigi gulped, beginning to shimmy back. The four main icons were the only ones making a choice.

But finally, they had their answer. One that the fighters may not have expected.

"I got it!" Mario yelled.

"Mr. Plumber Boy's right." Sonic added. "What if we take down BOTH Galeem AND Dharkon?!"

"What?!" Fox asked. "Is that even possible?!"

"It's worth a shot." Mega Man added. "Sure, we may have beaten them separately, but I think we can do it!"

Pac-Man nodded.

"Just think about it!" Sonic said. "All of your adventures, every second of your lives, it was all preparing you for this exact moment! I mean, all things must be balanced, right?"

"Pika?"

 _He might be right._ Mewtwo said to the Pokémon.

"You must have had some version of light against darkness in your worlds, or at least beings representing them!" Mega Man said. "Solgaleo vs Lunala, Palutena vs Hades, Solaris vs Dark Gaia, Link vs Ganon, and so on! One has always been defeated, but never destroyed! Because with the darkness gone, the light will have nothing to face! And thus, over time, it goes out! It's like the villain and the hero! Without the light, the darkness claims all, and the world is forgotten!"

Mario then explained the plan. They would fight more of the puppets while maintaining the balance, free the remaining four fighters and both hands, and have the hands help them against the gods.

"Let's-a go!"

The fighters charged. This time, Pit knew that they would REALLY for SURE win this time. FOR REAL!

Heroes fought dark puppets, while villains fought light puppets. Eventually, the light consumed Dharkon and the darkness swallowed Galeem, but both broke free as easily.

Reinforcements were sent forth, containing what the fighters were after.

Roy, Dark Samus, Palutena, and Bayonetta were all freed, leaving only the hands left.

After a climatic battle, the aura surrounding the hands faded. After seconds of unconsciousness, Master and Crazy came to.

"What? What happened? Where am I?"

"Hey! What the-?! What is this place!?"

It was then that the hands saw each other, then the fighters.

"Who are you?" They both asked.

It all made sense to the fighters by now. All this time, they had been fighting the puppets that Galeem and Dharkon had created. Now, they were meeting the real hands for the first time.

Dharkon may have been scheming, using some of his creations to destroy Galeem's. Using Tabuu to control one Master Hand copy, and Master Core taking on the form of a Master Hand. One that Dharkon had created himself, and hidden the core's true form and swarm-like powers within it.

Master Hand and Crazy Hand had never been created by Galeem and Dharkon. They were brought to existence by another being. One that had only the voice remaining.

 _AFTER 20 YEARS, I HAVE FINALLY FOUND YOU._ The voice of The Announcer rang out.

"Master? Is that you?!"

 _YOU ARE THE MASTER NOW. AS IS YOUR EQUAL._

"Hey, you happen to know these guys?" Crazy Hand asked.

 _I HAVE KNOWN THEM EVER SINCE THEY FIRST CAME TO BE. THESE HEROES COME FROM MULTIPLE WORLDS, DIFFERENT REALITIES. THEY HAVE PROVEN THEMSELVES WORTHY._

The voice seemed to be coming from one thing: a retro pixel cube, seemingly both of the second AND third dimension, that floated in the air, seemingly eying the hands.

 _THUS, IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO REALIZE THEIR TRUE POTENTIAL._ The Announcer said. _ON THIS DAY, IN 1999, I BROUGHT TOGETHER TEN UNIVERSES. AND EVER SINCE, I BROUGHT MORE AND MORE WORLDS TO MEET. I BUILT GATEWAYS FROM EACH DIMENSION INTO ONE SINGLE WORLD I MYSELF HAD CREATED. THE WORLD OF SUPER SMASH BROTHERS._

"You? You made all this?" Master Hand asked. "You created the Battlefield, the Big Battlefield, and the Final Destination?"

"Hold on a sec." Crazy Hand said. "Didn't Galeem say it was never the universes' destinies to collide?"

 _A DELUSION. GALEEM SEES TOO MUCH OF THE LIGHT. JUST AS DHARKON HAS FAR TOO MUCH DARKNESS IN HIS SOUL. THEY MAY HAVE EXISTED AT THE BEGINNING EVERYTHING, BUT THEY ARE THE ONLY THINGS IN THE MULTIVERSES THAT I DID NOT CREATE. HOWEVER, THEY ARE LIMITED ONLY TO THESE FOUR MULTIVERSES._

"There are more than just these four?" Master Hand asked.

 _INDEED. BUT EVEN I CANNOT INTERFERE WITH THE ACTIONS IN THEM. I AM PREVENTED. INSTEAD, I AM GIVEN CONTROL OF JUST THESE FOUR. AND THESE TWO BEINGS THREATEN ALL OF THEM. WITHOUT YOUR HELP, THIS WILL BE THE END OF ALL THEIR STORIES. AND THUS, THE END OF YOURS AND MINE AS WELL._

"I see…" Master Hand said. "I have been blinded by the light."

"And I've been led down a dark road!" Crazy Hand realized. "Don't worry, Master! We'll set things right!"

"Indeed we shall." Master Hand said. "Come, brother! It is time to finish what our God started 20 years ago! Let us bring down these pathetic excuses for false gods!"

The hands zoomed off and used their powers to banish the light and darkness, conquering both and restoring balance.

 _"_ _WHAT?!"_

 **"** **NO!"**

Master Hand slammed down onto the dimensional astral plane, making a crack. Crazy Hand drilled into it, making it bigger. Finally, the hands rubbed together and slammed down, creating a rift into the heart of the merged multiverses.

 _GO FORTH, BROTHERS!_ The Announcer yelled. _SMASH LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SMASHED BEFORE! BREAK EVERY LIMIT AND RULE OF IMAGINATION POSSIBLE! JUMP HIGHER THAN YOU HAVE JUMPED BEFORE! RUN AT SPEEDS YOU HAVE NEVER REACHED BEFORE! EXCEED YOURSELF AND SURPASS EVERYTHING! GO EVEN FURTHER THAN YOU EVER HAVE BEFORE!_

"Oh yeah!"

Mario felt his elemental fire burst forth! His palms ignited with flame as Cappy felt immense power burst through him!

"Wow! I feel great, Mario!" The hero of the Cap Kingdom said. "Let's do this!"

Mario nodded, then jumped higher than ever as he rocketed off towards a massive stairwell.

Sonic noticed seven gems speed towards him. He smirked.

"Well, guess I can't have a party without you guys, huh?" He said. He then closed his eyes and focused, the emeralds spinning into his body.

In a bright flash of light, Sonic turned golden, and his eyes a bright red.

"Let's do it!"

Super Sonic then sped off after Mario. Mega Man looked at his Mega Buster.

"This may not have been the reason you built me, Dr. Light…" Mega man said. "But you should be proud."

"Since when would you have all the fun?"

Mega Man whirled around. The voice came from an open portal. Out stepped familiar faces.

"X! EXE! Star Force! Volnutt! Proto Man! Bass!"

"You're not alone in this, Blue Bomber." X replied. "It's time for the Mega Legends to finish this once and for all!"

Nodding, Mega Man teleported himself and the legends towards the stairwell.

Pac-Man noticed he had something in his pockets. He pulled out a Power Pellet and another Power Pellet that seemed pixeled.

Smiling, he threw them up and ate them. He felt himself begin to change.

 _Final boss? Game on!_

Pac-Man grew until he became a 3D pixelated version of his original form. Seeing Galeem and Dharkon as the most tastiest ghosts ever, Pac-Man began to waka up the stairwell.

Meanwhile, the remaining fighters, Master Hand, and Crazy Hand began fighting the fighter and hand copies.

"Mario! You can-a do it, bro!" Luigi cheered on.

"So, you say you can defeat gods?" Bayonetta asked. "Well then, demonstrate, Sonic The Hedgehog."

"You may be a machine, Mega Man, but you've proven to have enough of a heart to do what is right." Ryu said. "I'll let you have this fight."

Mr. Game And Watch held up his Judge Panel and had it spell out P-A-C-M-A-N, before having a full black circle and having a slice removed, then back in again, and repeating it.

The two Inklings stared at the four glimmering lights at awe.

The Ultimate Showdown had finally begun…

…

The four Smash Legends went farther and farther up from the massive Battlefield as they ascended the stairwell. All fighter copies who fought them were blown to shreds.

The ten of them eventually got to the top, where they fought each and every fighter they had ever faced.

Afterwards, they reencountered the minions from earlier. Dracula was fighting Galleom, Ganon was fighting Giga Bowser, and Marx was fighting Rathalos.

All six of them easily fell before their might.

But being the masters of space and time within the Nintendo, Sega, Capcom, and Bandai Namco Multiverses, Galeem and Dharkon had one more challenge for the fighters.

They were all separated, which each fighter fighting every villain they had ever faced in their pasts.

Mario fought Bowser for the umpteenth time.

Sonic fought all from his rogues' gallery, from enemies like Dr. Eggman, Metal Sonic, Perfect Chaos, Zavoc, and Infinite, and rivals like Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver.

The Mega Legends fought every Robot Master and Maverick imaginable, even Dr. Wily and Sigma!

Pac-Man found himself in an infinitely large maze, chased by hundreds, no, thousands, of ghosts! But being the big boy he now literally was, Pac-Man chased them all down and fueled up for his upcoming battle. But then, he had one more obstacle: escaping the maze from the 256 glitch!

Soon, everyone else found themselves escaping as well. Mario from Bowser's Castle sinking into lava, Super Sonic from a massive flood of shadowy black water, and the Mega Legends from a self-destructing base! Luckily, all managed to escape.

Soon, all ten of them reunited. It was there, at the Final Destination, that they would face their most greatest threats yet…

Wings and tentacles clashed as the two gods continued their battle. Galeem and Dharkon had arrived.

 _"_ _THE RED, THE BLUE, AND THE YELLOW."_ Galeem boomed. _"HAVE YOU FINALLY CHOSEN TO COME TO THE LIGHT?"_

 **"** **OR HAVE YOU DECIDED TO EMBRACE THE DARKNESS?"** Dharkon added.

"Oh, we've made our choices, alright." Cappy said. "And we choose neither!"

"You think you can erase the entire multiverses or rewind everything back to the way they were?!" Super Sonic added. "That's sounds pretty lame!"

"I won't let you get away with this! Both of you!" Mega Man said. "I may be programmed to bring no harm to humans, but my friends and I will both be happy to kill you all!"

Pac-Man's eyes narrowed.

 _"_ _YOU SEEK TO DESTROY ME?! ME?!"_

 **"** **I AM YOUR GOD, PUNY MORTALS!"**

 ** _"_** ** _AND YOU HAVE NO PLACE IN THIS WORLD!"_** They both roared, beginning to focus all their strength onto them.

Mario jumped over the wings, Super Sonic dashed into the eye, the Mega Legends fired their busters, and Pac-Man ate all the projectiles. Besides focusing on the fighters, Galeem and Dharkon fought each other.

Eventually, the battle soon escalated out of control. The ten fighters found themselves slowly getting pixelated and reverting back to their original forms!

"AAHH!" Cappy screamed.

"What the heck is going on?!" Sonic yelled as he turned 16-bit and back.

 _"_ _YOU FOOLS!"_ Galeem roared. _"DON'T YOU REALIZE WHAT YOU'VE DONE?!"_

 **"** **THE FABRIC OF ALL YOUR REALITIES IS BEING UNRAVELED!"** Dharkon roared. **"YOU ARE RACING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO YOUR DOOM!"**

"Mega Man, what's happening?!" X yelled. "I beginning to feel flat!"

Pac-Man's jaw dropped as he saw a few pixels begin to float off him and the others!

"I think we're slowly beginning to get erased from existence!" EXE yelled. "We have to hurry!"

Mario dared not to imagine the others like this.

…

"AAAHHH! What's happening to us?!" Pit yelled.

"WAAAAHHH! Get 'em offa me!" Wario yelped, trying to shake the pixels off.

"The fools!" Master Hand roared. "They're tearing all of reality apart!"

"Mario!" Peach yelled. "HURRY!"

Mr. Game And Watch began glitching like crazy.

The Inklings didn't feel so good either. It was like they were turning to dust! Pixelized dust!

The fate of all now rested on those four legends.

But their time, like a kid's playing an arcade game, was slowly running out.

…

"Remember, we can't let them kill each other!" Mega Man yelled. "If that happens, the other will wipe us out!"

Pac-Man felt like he was running out of lives. FAST!

"Gah! I'm running out of rings!" Super Sonic gasped. "We gotta finish this now!"

"Mario! We have to hurry!"

Nodding, Mario began charging up his palms.

Getting into a spin dash, Super Sonic began glowing brightly with all the energy he had.

Mega Man ordered the Mega legends to charge up their busters past their limit.

Pac-Mac began chomping faster than ever, getting ready to charge.

 ** _"_** ** _ENOUGH OF ALL OF THIS! I SHALL FINISH EVERYTHING HERE AND NOW! CEASE TO EXIST!"_**

Galeem and Dharkon charged up their energy beams.

In a bright flash, beams of light and darkness shot out!

"WAAAAAAAHOOOOOO!" Mario's fire was strong enough to counter the beams!

"HAAAAAAAAAA!" Super Sonic launched at lightspeed, smashing hard into the beams, clashing with them!

"NOW! FIRE!" The Mega Legends and Mega Man fired their busters, combining the strength to clash against the beams!

"WAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKAWAKA!" Pac-Man chomped as fast and hard as he could, biting away at the beams!

The clash was bright enough to be seen by the fighters so far away.

Eventually, after a solid minute, the fighters began to push forward.

 _"_ _I…I SEE. SO BE IT."_

 **"** **NO…NO! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"**

As Galeem accepted his inevitable defeat, knowing he would never be able to overthrow such power, he let the combined attacks strike him in the core.

At the exact same time, Dharkon screamed in a true rage-quit fashion as the same attack struck him hard in the eye!

What happened next was all a blur…

…

The fighters and hands saw everything.

Galeem fell towards the sea, making his core stop glowing. He seemed to be going out peacefully, having seen the error of his ways.

 _"_ _GOODBYE, BRAVE WARRIORS. THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME SEE THE TRUE LIGHT. FAREWELL…."_

" **NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

Dharkon screamed in pure villainy loss as his eye went cold. He, too, fell into the ocean.

The hand copies disintegrated as the gods began glowing with light and dark energy.

They then faded into glimmering stars.

The pixels on the fighters stopped floating off as they were all restored.

"Whew!" Pit sighed. "Well, I'm glad that's over wit-."

Suddenly, the lights exploded!

"WAH!"

The fighters had little time to react as they were all caught in the cleansing blast.

…

Master Hand, Crazy Hand, and the three Miis woke up, finding themselves on the battlefield.

"What happened?!" The Brawler asked. "Where are the others?"

 _IT SEEMS LIKE THE DEITIES HAVE CLEANSED THE WORLD OF THEIR INFLUENCE._ The Announcer said, as the cube he spoke from flew towards them. _ALL WORLDS ARE NOW SEPARATE, BUT CONNECTED, ONCE AGAIN._

"But what about the other fighters?" The Swordfighter asked. "Are they-?"

 _BACK IN THEIR OWN WORLDS? YES. THE BLAST HAS SEEMINGLY DONE THAT TO ALL FIGHTERS, EVEN YOU FIVE._

"And Galeem and Dharkon?" The Gunner asked.

 _ARE NO MORE._

"To think that they were the true masterminds of all these events. Of all your tournaments." Master Hand sighed. "And of us, too imprisoned to do anything about it."

"So, now what do we do?" Crazy Hand asked.

 _I FIRST CAME INTO CONTACT WITH THOSE TWO BEINGS LONG AGO._ The Announcer said. _IF THEY HAD EVER DONE SOMETHING TERRIBLE, I CREATED A PROPECHY THAT FORETOLD OF THE FIGHTERS' RETURN TO STOP THEM. THAT ONE OF THEM SURVIVED. AND REBUILD THE ARMY. KIRBY TOLD YOU, DIDN'T HE?_

The Miis gasped.

"Wait a minute…" The Brawler said. "That weird ancient text with the ancient meaning?! The one Kirby found when he first entered the World of Light?! That…that was YOU?!"

 _YES. AND THE LIGHT HAS INDEED BEEN REAWAKENED. AND NOW, THE TRUE DAMAGE DONE CAN FINALLY BE FIXED._

The Miis and Hands heard something. They turned and gasped at what they saw.

The massive amount of spirits began flooding out into the sky, leaving a bright shine at the top.

"The Spirits…is that all of them?!"

 _INDEED. WITHOUT EITHER GALEEM OR DHARKON CONTROLLING THEM, THEY ARE NOW FREE. THEY ARE RETURNING TO THEIR OWN WORLDS, WHERE THEY WILL BE REUNITED WITH THEIR PYHSICAL FORMS._

"It's beautiful. It's just like your prophecy stated. Infinite souls. Each containing whispers of light."

 _THE LIGHT HAS ALWAYS GUIDED US, MY FRIENDS. BUT THE ULTIMATE FIGHT HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN._

"Yes! I'm ready for your next tournament!"

And with that, the Miis raced off as the Hands warped back to the Final Destination.

The Announcer sounded like he was smiling.

 _THE TIME IS NEAR…_

…

"Ooohhhh….Mama-Mia…."

"Did…did we do it?" Cappy asked. "Did we win?"

Mario shook himself awake and got back up. He looked around. Wait…this wasn't the cliff.

This was the Mushroom Kingdom! He was back home!

"Mario!"

The voice perked the hero up. In delight, he rushed over to Luigi, Peach, Rosalina, Luma, and Daisy.

"You did it! Thank you, Mario!" Peach said. "You really are a hero!"

She then kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

"I-a knew it! You-a are the best-a brother ever-a!" Luigi leaped in joy!

Luma then handed Mario something. It seemed to be a note.

 _Mario-_

 _We know that this isn't something we wouldn't usually do, but since thanks to you, we're all not dead. So, yeah. Thank you. This may be awkward, but it's the best we could do, right?_

 _And besides, it's like I said. If anyone's gonna destroy you once and for all, it's gonna be me. And now that we think about it, it would be kinda boring without an arch-nemesis._

 _Then again, we've got some super-hard courses for you next time we kidnap you-know-who for the umpteenth time. Yes, we may be defeated. Yes, you may rescue her. But hey, it's all just part of the game we play, right? And maybe bring more of your friends this time. The more, the merrier, right?_

 _Enjoy your heroic celebration_

 _-Bowser and Bowser Jr._

"Well, that's certainly something." Cappy said. "Well, what are we waiting for, Mario! Onward to Peach's Castle!"

"Oh yeah! Let's-a go!"

And with that, the party rushed on over.

Even after that awesome feat…

No one would ever forget the name of the Super Mario Brothers.

…

"Oh man, I feel like I took one Special Stage travel too many."

Sonic got back up.

"Hey, wait a minute. This is Green Hill Zone!" He realized. "Ah, there really is no place like home!"

He then noticed two figures rush up to him!

"Hey! Sonic!"

"Tails! Knuckles! Man, am I glad to see you!"

"You won't believe what just happened!" The echidna said. "There was this flash of light, and then I felt so weightless, and then, BAM! Before I know it, I'm back in my own body again!"

"Knuckles and I were forced by an ancient being to work inside a living puppet!" Miles added. "Then we were freed, found ourselves among many others, and eventually found ourselves here!"

"Heh. That's almost similar to what I've been through!" Sonic smirked. "Now I know how it feels to take on Solaris AND Dark Gaia at the same time!"

"Solaris?" Knuckles asked. "Oh yeah! That godly guy! But I feel like I'm missing some parts…"

"Anyway, my scanners picking up Chaos Emerald readings again!" Tails said. "You ready for another adventure?"

"Since when could I ever say no?" Sonic smirked. "I've been at this for 25 years and more!"

He got into a running start pose.

"Try to keep up!"

And with that, the Blue Blur sped off, with the other two close behind.

After all, not even the light and darkness incarnate…

Could keep up with The Fastest Thing Alive.

…

Mega Man was within the lab of Dr. Light. The recent memories were still fresh in his circuits.

He had told Thomas, Auto, Roll, and everyone else about the amazing feat he had done. Of course, he was congratulated.

Now, he was just as Rock. He was amazed how far he had come in more than 30 years.

It was then that the Blue Bomber got a message. He brought up his HUD. It was from X.

It said, "Got a minute?".

Rock smiled, donning on his Mega Man gear.

 _I'm on my way._

And with a blip, Mega Man teleported forth towards adventure.

…

It was completely dark for Pac-Man.

He couldn't see anything for miles and miles. Not even his hands or legs.

He then heard small footsteps. Then something being inserted. Like a coin in an arcade cabinet. Then the press of a button.

The light flashed on in an instant. Pac-Man looked to see a young kid staring back at him. In that kid's reflection, Pac-Man saw what he looked like. A 2D circle with a piece missing.

Beyond the kid, he caught the date.

May 22nd, 1980.

Inside, he smiled. Galeem may have sent him back in time, but it was only back to the good old days.

The level maze materialized all around him, as that infamous start music played all around him. His ghost foes, Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde, began to float towards him.

 _Level 1, huh?_ Pac-Man thought. _Alright, kid. Game on!_

Pac-Man felt the kid move the control stick to the left, and thus he was given his destination.

Waka to the left, then up, then right, then down, Pac-Man wasn't quite ready for yet another Game Over.

Seeing himself beginning to get cornered, Pac-Man noticed a Power Pellet. Seeing it as well the kid moved him towards it.

Once it went down the hatch, the ghosts realized what was going to happen. Turning blue, they began to flee.

Hungry, Pac-Man charged.

It didn't matter how many times he would be knocked down. The yellow circle had infinite lives.

And he wouldn't stop playing his part as the hero for more than 30 years.

 _Hope you got a whole piggy bank of quarters. This is gonna be one heck of a game!_


	14. Epilogue

"So, I've heard that you'd be doing a fifth tournament." The Mii Brawler said to The Announcer deep within the Archives.

 _YES. THE ULTIMATE TOURNEMENT. UNLIKE ANY I HAVE HOSTED BEFORE._ The Announcer replied. _AND TO UP THE EXCITEMENT, I'VE ADDED A LITTLE MORE FIGHTERS AND DIMENSIONS…_

The Mii saw six images on the screen. One showed a Piranha Plant pot with a leaf growing out of it. Another showed a thief mask. The third had a sword within green vines of a tree. The fourth had a puzzle piece.

But the remaining two screens were blank.

"What are they representing?"

 _THE NEW FIGHTERS THAT WILL JOIN THE TOURNAMENT. ONE MAY SEEM UNUSUAL, BUT THE REMAINING FIVE WILL BE ONES FROM NEW DIMENSIONS, NEW TO THE WORLD OF SMASH. I HAVE IDENTIFIED THREE WORLDS: DIMENSION P3RS0N4, DIMENSION DR460N QU357, AND DIMENSION B4NJ0 K4Z0013._

"What about the other two?"

 _IT IS NOT CERTAIN, BUT I KNOW. AND IF I TELL YOU, THEY WILL NOT MEET. IT IS BEST TO KEEP SURPRISES TO YOURSELF UNTIL THEY ARE REVEALED._

"So, first off, you told me earlier that a Piranha Plant will be a Fighter?" The Mii said. "And they said Mr. Game And Watch was weird."

 _ONLY TIME WILL TELL YOU THE REST. BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU…_

The Announcer then looked straight at the Mii.

 _THE TRUE ULTIMATE SHOWDOWN IS ABOUT TO BEGIN._

The End…For Now. Check out what happens next in the DLC for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate!


End file.
